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Here are just 137 of my favourite rock songs and (rock) ballads. Apart from the first one, the rest are in no particular order.

Please feel free to debate/disagree, discuss and add to the list etc. To be honest,Â I could have added hundreds more.

Are these good choices? Could they be better? Do they inspire you? Do you have instances, images in your head when you think of, or sing them? Are these the types of songs which can entertain a nation, compared to what the current music scene offers today?

Perhaps you can find out more about the chosen artists and would they inspire people to write music and sing today in your opinion?

Comments

By the way, apologies to the lecturers if this type of blog isn't appreciated. Just I thought it might inspire people and inform, or open debate for people to discuss their passions, or question what I have on my list, allowing entertaining thought?

Haha yeah well it has to be done. There's probably a few people who do like it, but won't admit it, so I thought I would. Haha, at least I hope they like it (cue embarrassment).

Â Yeah too right "The Boss" has that country twang we all love to hear. I haven't heard Mary's Place, I think I'll "endeavour" to have a look. I'm sure I will!

Haha, sorry Bob Dylan nearly got there, but not quite. I did like it after the other day though, cheers. Oh my God, I can't believe I forgot to put The Who on my list. Disgraceful!

I take your point with both of those which you've mentioned to be overplayed. Just, even though I wouldn't play them everyday, if you hear them on the radio, even ifÂ you don't love them that much - they just seem to make an impact. Perhaps that's taking it too far?

Haha yeah well it's raining, I've done Sarah's stuff at least. Yeah, good that I'm not the only one either, I was beginning to think I was.

Led Zeppelin for me I'm not bothered about. They're okay, but like Doritos, you can take them or leave them. A bit overrated in my view, however, Whole Lotta Love is a good song.

I just can't stand Robert Plant to be honest. Whenever I've heard him interviewed on the BBC (particularly Breakfast, when he's plugging a new experimental bluesy album), he has this arrogance that every chord he'll strum and every note he'll sing is the perfect one. I mean I'm not saying Phil Collins isn't a bit like that, but at the same time, you don't see him on TV as much as you do with Plant.

Sorry I don't know Jeff Buckley particularly. I'll have to have a listen at some point. Although I suppose I should know Jeff Buckley, as it seems like someone people of our age listen to.

Can I make the point that although some of these on my list are incredibly cheesy and mainstream and invite mass commerce, they're in some respects brilliantly catchy and effective, i.e. Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere, Genesis - I Can't Dance, Starship - We Built This City and Van Halen - Jump. I mean, we all have our guilty pleasures, we just don't often admit them.

I think saying Led Zeppelin were over rated is a bit... harsh. Look when they were around. If The Beatles were a new band today and released 'Love Me Do' I don't think it would be number one somehow.

Songs like Kashmir, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love and Black Dog, immense songs. Obviously it's a matter of opinion but I feel Van Halen were awfully over-hyped. Saying that, I am very much into alternative music, so I like strange sounds, sort of sounds Zep made... and Radiohead... By the way, where is Karma Police and Street Spirit!? haha. Â

Haha I suppose I can see your point, just that as I explained to Becci, even if you don't love it, it does end up getting stuck in your head and being sung too if you hear it, even if you like it or not. Believe, me there are far better songs!

Oh too right, I can't STAND The Beatles anyhow - the only one who had talent was Lennon and look how he ended up - typical! I prefer Led Zeppelin, but I just dislike Plant to be honest. Don't worry I give the impression that I love Van Halen, but to be honest I only like a few of theirs.

Street Spirit and Karma Police are some of Radiohead's better songs, as are Creep and Nude. Haha thanks for your contributions though. The problem is, I don't know about you, but I'm not sure whether the rock songs of today are as good as those pre-circa-1995 (when Britpop came along). I have a theory that although Britpop was brilliant, it inspired a lot nasal emo/indie tossers to write songs and perform them in a very naff, angst-ridden, teen-marketed way.

That's partly one of the reasons why I think rock of the 60's, 70's 80's and early 90's is now dead. That may sound cynical, but I just think it's not as good as it used to be. Harsh?

I have that same theory. But as I also said there's not much more you can do in music that hasn't already been done... but the likes of The Kooks and Fratelli's could at least try!! Â

At V Festival when I sat through the Kooks agonisingly bland set I seriously couldn't tell when one song ended and another began sometmes, it's utterly ridiculous. The bands that class themselves as Indie don't understand the true meaning of that is in fact 'Independant'. There's nothing less independant as sounding almost identical to the group of kids in the garage a few doors down from you.Â

And this new 'Indie Kid' and 'Emo' culture has got to stop. It's a constant competition to find the most unheard and obscure bands and tell all your friends about them and take group trips to Camden to see them play and as soon as they get signed they're labelled 'Sell-Outs'Â

And anyone over the age of 16 attatching 'Fuck Off' badges to their bags should be shot immediately. Anyone over 18 going into the shop 'Rocket' (if it's still there) on Rochester High St should be as well!Â

Glad to hear someone's got life sussed. True, I mean they're annoying croons and repetitive riffs just piss me off. The Kooks are quite frankly one of the worst groups ever, as are The Hives,Â The Holloways, Plain White T's, The Libertines, The Futureheads, Dirty Pretty Things etc. Moronic, noisy and uncultured in my opinion, which sums up Pete Doherty mostly.

Haha, V Festival sounds a right waste of time. The Big Weekend at Maidstone was a bit like that to be honest, the skinny jeans and stupid shoes brigade were sweating and talking crap about life, as if they're experts on music, philosophy and god knows what else.

EXACTLY, I'm glad someone has mentioned about the 'Independent' thing. I mean independent is meant to be a band being part of their own independent record label, but now they're in fact being 'labelled' indie in a completely different way.

Too right, if I get one more emo who giggles inappropriately, goes on about how good Scrubs and The Ting Tings are, I think I might have to brandish a right hook. Haha your description of emos is perfect.

Haha 'fuck off', 'emotional' and all the rest of the stupid badges are terrible admittedly. Yes theÂ abomination IS still there unfortunately. I think a Magnum 44 is necessary to rid the world of such rubbish.

was awesome, in my opinion. Obviously there were a lot of crap bands playing though, which was a slight problem. ButÂ The Verve/Kings of Leon - yum!

Rob, did you see Lenny Kravitz's set?! I accidentally fell in love with him after he started talking to me when he was onstage. This was seconds before he sung Pink Floyd because I "looked like the type of girl that liked 70s/80s rock." I don't care if it was all pre-planned, it made my day!

Quick mention to the cheesey ballard masters that are Manowar, none of their songs seem to be in there... you only have to see the titles to know they're epic classics:

Battle Hymn

Brothers of Metal

Hymn Of The Immortal Warriors

Black Wind, Fire and Steel.

If you want to see grown men cry at the RAW POWER of Manowar, look no further than Youtube.

Disclaimer: I am not a fan of Manowar. I am not even sure whether they take themselves that seriously I think they started out as a joke and just ran with it, it is funny listening to the songs and ridiculously masculine lyrics though.

Thanks for all the contributions to the list and I'm glad this list has opened up such great debate - despite my rather ridiculous number of songs, which in hindsight was pretty excessive :).

Can I please point out that this is notÂ a definitive list of songs and it was never meant to be and it is just my personal choice. Can I also note that the cheesy Celine, Jennifer Warnes, Sinead etc areÂ not my favourites and I really don't listen to them often, but for their emotional meaningÂ (their lyrics), they're well written. And finally, I'd like to stress that this is a collection of rock songs, power ballads (in a rock format) and ballads (which aren't rock). I don't think I made myself clear when I wrote the original list.

And don't worry, I don't think I'll be doing a list like this ever again :).

You want emotional, powerful and all-out inspirational lyrics... look no further than 'Gloves of Metal' by the almighty Manowar:

Hear the pounding army of the night
The call of metal summons us tonight
And gather we on this site
To behold the power and the might
We wear leather, we wear spikes, we rule the night
Off with the lights, hear the screams
See the banging heads awaken to their dreams.

Thanks for the post Rob. I looked on You Tube, they remind me of Spinal Tap, i.e. piss-take esque of the metal bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden etc and the lyrics are indescribable. I love the calming seagull at the start of the video, which then just reverts to metal carnage and then men on horses galloping and the great mad guitar solo later on. Not something I'd listen to, too often I think, but very entertaining. Cheers :).

P.S. the lead vocalistÂ reminds me a bit of Ronnie James Dio in terms of vocals. The trademark mad hair too.

For about a year I've been harbouring this shameful love for "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us", and now I'm pretty glad I can come out of the closet, since obviously no one has lynched Stu for it. Though I'm still in "The Darkness Fan" closet. Still, thanks for lifting the burden =]

Haha don't be ashamed James, Sparks are great. The Mael brothers are probably one of the most unique duo's in music (due to their bizarre image on stage, with Russell wearing no trousers and Ron sporting a deadpan facial expression and sporting a wonderful moustache) and their music in the 70s, 80s and 90s is brilliant. My parents own a Sparks album from the 90s and that's how I got to know of them. The 90s album by SparksÂ is surprisingly synth-laden (despite them using synths in the 70s, for example on Beat The Clock and the aforementioned track This Town...) and is aÂ development of their earlier work. It isÂ likened to those groups of the "synthpop" genre in the 70s,Â 80s and 90s, like The Cars, Depeche Mode, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark), Simple MindsÂ and Ultravox etc, who often fused guitars with synthesizers

James, the reason I've not been lynched for the Sparks reference, is due to people's lack of knowledge as to who they actually are haha (which isn't surprising, as why should people of our generation know really?). Otherwise, like you've seen with Aerosmith and all the other cheesy rubbish on my list, I've been lynched. I Believe In A Thing Called Love is catchy, although I didn't likeÂ Don't Let The Bells End by The Darkness.

Tim, can you please remind me of the word you used to describe my music tastes? Haha I've forgotten it, but it sounded bloody good (even though I think it was quite negativeÂ haha).

By theÂ way Tim, I do like My Best Friend's Girl by The Cars and I have also heard material like Just What I Needed, Moving In Stereo et al and like their music before they became mainstream in the UK particularly. By the way, I meant that The Wombats had a song "Let's Dance To Joy Division", rather than what I actually said, which was "they sound like Joy Division", which is actually not at all what I meant haha. Although I do know what Joy Division sound like, as I like them and New Order and I also have David Nolan's book on Bernard Sumner (Joy Division, New Order, Electronic).

If you like them, you may like Razorlight, The Killers, The Kaiser Chiefs etc, though I'm probably insulting your intelligence by assuming that you haven't heard of them...

I just love how they managed to get "Bells end" to be aired so much! It's such a catchy tune though in my opinion. To be fair, alot of people think that The Darkness are a bit of a joke, seeing as all their videos are a bit weird, but that was only to make some decent rock tracks relatable to the general public. Aerosmith are supreme my friend, and that song has got to be the best part of Armageddon. Other than that incredible CJ piece when the nuke went off.